THE MINIMALIST; The Simplest Egg, Yet the Most Elegant

By MARK BITTMAN

Published: December 26, 2007

YOU can cook eggs successfully by just about every method, short of grilling them. And even the longer methods do not take much time.

It can be challenging, however, to give eggs enough of an elegant twist to serve them to company, especially when the company arrives en masse, as tends to happen this time of year.

Enter the baked egg, at 15 minutes or so perhaps the slowest common cooking method (yes, I know, you can cook eggs for five hours if you choose to do so). But this is in a way the easiest method for cooking eggs in quantity.

Put one egg in a ramekin with almost any other ingredients you like, then bake it just until the white sets. That's pretty much it.

The advantages are many: you can use one ramekin or 20; you can bake the eggs with oil or butter; and you can add whatever else you want -- for example, as I do here, butter, tomato and prosciutto.

But that's just the start. Spinach, cooked and chopped, is a fine bed, as is cooked chopped asparagus. A tablespoon or so of cream is a lovely addition, with any vegetable.

Prosciutto is clearly about as fancy a meat as you can get, but chopped cooked bacon or sausage, or chopped plain ham, is also good. And a grating of Parmesan over all is never a mistake.

Despite its simplicity, there is definitely elegance here, and the time sacrifice is not exactly extreme.

Recipe: Baked Egg with Prosciutto and Tomato Time: 15 minutes

Butter or oil as needed

1 slice tomato

1 small slice prosciutto

1 egg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Smear a bit of butter or oil in ramekin; line with tomato and prosciutto. Break egg into ramekin, then put on a baking sheet.

2. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until egg is set and white has solidified. Because the cup retains heat, egg will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven, so it is best to undercook it slightly. Precise time, in a good oven on a middle rack, is 12 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Yield: 1 serving.

Variations: You could put chopped cooked spinach or cooked asparagus in bottom of cup, with a little cream. Or place the egg on a bed of chopped ham, bacon or sausage. Sprinkle with Parmesan if you like.

Recipe: Baked Egg with Prosciutto and Tomato Time: 15 minutes

Butter or oil as needed

1 slice tomato

1 small slice prosciutto

1 egg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Smear a bit of butter or oil in ramekin; line with tomato and prosciutto. Break egg into ramekin, then put on a baking sheet.

2. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until egg is set and white has solidified. Because the cup retains heat, egg will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven, so it is best to undercook it slightly. Precise time, in a good oven on a middle rack, is 12 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Yield: 1 serving.

Variations: You could put chopped cooked spinach or cooked asparagus in bottom of cup, with a little cream. Or place the egg on a bed of chopped ham, bacon or sausage. Sprinkle with Parmesan if you like.

PHOTO: WHEN GUESTS SLEEP OVER: Peek beneath the egg to find spinach or ham. (PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SUNG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)